The severe dry spell here has left us with a scorching hot weather and no rain for more than a month. The average humidity also dropped by around 10%, hitting an all time low. This dry spell is the worst so far, beating the record of the 1869 dry spell by a couple of days, and counting. This has, believe it or not, caused some small bushfires in Singapore, which is why a faint smoke smell could be detected in the air, leading many to believe that the haze is back. As illogical as it seems, it may all be a reality.
In Indonesia, some farmers are illegally burning land to clear space for plantations this time of the year, due to the dry spell. Already, 70 hotspots have been identified, with some being extinguished and more being formed. Some of these fires are so intense, that the smog created caused the Pollution Standards Index(PSI) in the surrounding area to peak at a record high 500++ PSI, with areas 10 kilometres away having about 350 PSI, in the 'hazardous' range. Thankfully, the wind that came along with the dry spell is blowing the haze in the other direction. However, in the wee hours and at night, a smoke smell wafts through the air due to buildup of these haze particles, and are not a result of the small bushfires. As I was typing this, I could smell a stronger smoke smell in the air, but I will get to that later. Another reason why there is haze in Indonesia is also because of the recent eruptions of Mount Sinabung and Mount Kelud----both of which spewed a lot of ash and left a lot of ash particles floating around. The ash is also kept at bay by the winds. However, all of that is about to change.
Recently, Malaysia is doing cloud seeding in order to bring an end to the dry spell, which also affected them. This move might have caused a chain reaction to occur, which would justify the stronger smoke smell as mentioned earlier. By doing cloud seeding, and being successful in it for that matter, an area of low pressure has been created over Malaysia. If what I have learnt in Geography is correct, air travels from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure in the form of a convection current, if occurring vertically. However, this instance would be happening over a long distance, and occurs more horizontally. The current that might be formed due to the area of high pressure in Indonesia caused by the heat of the fires and eruptions, causing air to flow towards Malaysia, pulling the haze along with it. In simpler terms, the wind might change its direction and blow the haze towards us. Be prepared to use those N95 masks, you will need them. Thankfully our country had already saved up 16 million of them, hope you have some too. The great Singapore haze is coming back, and worse than ever, with its cocktail of three sources, one man-made and two kindly donated by Mother Nature. Beware.
The haze just might be back. Brace yourselves.
The severe dry spell here has left us with a scorching hot weather and no rain for more than a month. The average humidity also dropped by around 10%, hitting an all time low. This dry spell is the worst so far, beating the record of the 1869 dry spell by a couple of days, and counting. This has, believe it or not, caused some small bushfires in Singapore, which is why a faint smoke smell could be detected in the air, leading many to believe that the haze is back. As illogical as it seems, it may all be a reality.In Indonesia, some farmers are illegally burning land to clear space for plantations this time of the year, due to the dry spell. Already, 70 hotspots have been identified, with some being extinguished and more being formed. Some of these fires are so intense, that the smog created caused the Pollution Standards Index(PSI) in the surrounding area to peak at a record high 500++ PSI, with areas 10 kilometres away having about 350 PSI, in the 'hazardous' range. Thankfully, the wind that came along with the dry spell is blowing the haze in the other direction. However, in the wee hours and at night, a smoke smell wafts through the air due to buildup of these haze particles, and are not a result of the small bushfires. As I was typing this, I could smell a stronger smoke smell in the air, but I will get to that later. Another reason why there is haze in Indonesia is also because of the recent eruptions of Mount Sinabung and Mount Kelud----both of which spewed a lot of ash and left a lot of ash particles floating around. The ash is also kept at bay by the winds. However, all of that is about to change.
Recently, Malaysia is doing cloud seeding in order to bring an end to the dry spell, which also affected them. This move might have caused a chain reaction to occur, which would justify the stronger smoke smell as mentioned earlier. By doing cloud seeding, and being successful in it for that matter, an area of low pressure has been created over Malaysia. If what I have learnt in Geography is correct, air travels from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure in the form of a convection current, if occurring vertically. However, this instance would be happening over a long distance, and occurs more horizontally. The current that might be formed due to the area of high pressure in Indonesia caused by the heat of the fires and eruptions, causing air to flow towards Malaysia, pulling the haze along with it. In simpler terms, the wind might change its direction and blow the haze towards us. Be prepared to use those N95 masks, you will need them. Thankfully our country had already saved up 16 million of them, hope you have some too. The great Singapore haze is coming back, and worse than ever, with its cocktail of three sources, one man-made and two kindly donated by Mother Nature. Beware.